| URI, the United Religions Initiative, is pleased to announce that the 2019 Bowes Award will be given to the URI Interfaith Councils of the Bay Area and the Interfaith Center at the Presidio. At a time of rising tensions and increased division among people of different beliefs, the URI Interfaith Councils of the Bay Area and the Interfaith Center at the Presidio are beacons of light amidst the shadows of prejudice and discrimination. Each Council brings together members of different belief communities to work on local and global issues of great significance. From homelessness and housing, to disaster relief, to standing up for communities under assault like the Yazidis, to combating hate speech and coming together in solidarity in the face of acts of violence. The Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County The Marin Interfaith Council The San Francisco Interfaith Council The Silicon Valley Interreligious Council The Tri-City Interfaith Council The Interfaith Center at the Presidio The Bowes Award was instituted in honor of longtime URI supporter William K. Bowes by his brother John, and given to Cooperation Circles whose work exemplifies URI’s purpose and principles. The Bowes Award will be presented during Accelerating Peace: An International Conference at Stanford University to be held on June 26 and 27. To register for the Conference and Circles of Light Gala and Award Ceremony |
URI – The United Religions Initiative invites you to Accelerate Peace! There will be free registration for a limited number of Members of ICCCC! Register today! Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Thursday, June 27, 2019on the Stanford University campus
The United Religions Initiative (URI) is hosting a two-day international conference Accelerate Peace: Interfaith Action in Global Peacebuilding on June 26 and June 27.
In a world of rising violence fueled by tensions between peoples of different beliefs, interfaith peacebuilders around the world work together daily to resolve conflicts. Striving beyond partisanship, they bridge religious, cultural and political differences for the good of their communities and create the conditions essential for sustainable peace in the world.
Accelerate Peace: Interfaith Action in Global Peacebuilding will bring together grassroots interfaith peacebuilders, policy experts, and religious leaders, as well as representatives from the United Nations and international and interfaith organizations around themes including “Women’s Empowerment and Environmental Sustainability,” “Ending Religiously Motivated Violence,” “Revolutionary Love – The Call of Our Times” and “Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons,” among others. For the conference program.
Participants will develop a deeper understanding of interfaith efforts towards global peacebuilding and consider targeted action steps to be undertaken locally and globally.
On the evening of June 26, URI also will host the annual Circles of Light Gala, a launching event to URI’s 20th anniversary and celebrating URI’s Global Peacebuilding Awards given this year to UNFPA (The United Nations Population Fund), the United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention, and the Revolutionary Love Project.
Both events will be at the Hoover Institution on the Stanford University campus.
URI’s Global Council and Global Leadership including Ms. Kiran Bali MBE JP, Global Council Chair, The Rev. Victor Kazanjian, Executive Director, and The Right Rev. William E. Swing, President, invite you to join us and the following speakers.
Confirmed Speakers include
Mohammed Abu-NimerProfessor at the American University School of International ServiceSenior Adviser to the KAICIID Dialogue Centre
The Rev. Jennifer BaileyFounder and Executive Director of the Faith Matters Network
Kehkashan BasuFounder and President of the Green Hope Foundation, Canada
Amira Diamond and Melinda KramerCo-Directors of the Women’s Earth Alliance
H.E. Adama Dieng Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the Prevention of Genocide
Jonathan GranoffPresident of the Global Security Institute
Brian J. GrimPresident of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
Ambassador Mussie HailuDirector of Global Partnership, URI Representative at the UN and African Union,and URI-Africa Regional Director
Susan HaywardSenior Advisor for Religion and Inclusive Societies at the United States Institute of Peace
Azza M. KaramSenior Adviser at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)Coordinator of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Development
Valarie KaurFounder of the Revolutionary Love Project
Audrey KitagawaChair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Rabbi Daniel L. LehmannPresident of the Graduate Theological Union
General James N. MattisFormer United States Secretary of Defense
Ulrich NitschkeHead of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) Secretariat
James PattonPresident and CEO of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy
Sadhvi Bhagawati SaraswatiSecretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance
The Hon. George P. ShultzFormer Secretary of State for the United States
Janessa Gans WilderFounder and Executive Director of the Euphrates Institute
and grassroots, interfaith peacebuilders from around the world!
MORE ABOUT URI (“United Religions Initiative”)
Today URI is the largest grassroots, interfaith peacebuilding organization in the world.
- URI implements its mission through local and global interfaith initiatives in 109 countries that build the capacity of its almost 1,000 local member groups we call Cooperation Circles. These Cooperation Circles undertake community action projects on issues such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, economic development, education, environmental sustainability, human rights, women’s empowerment, and youth leadership.
- Supported by a global office based in San Francisco and 21 regional offices on six continents, URI’s decentralized, network-based approach to supporting grassroots interfaith groups that engage critical humanitarian issues is giving people around the world the power to transform their struggles, and build cohesive, connected, and thriving communities. URI supports the global network of grassroots interfaith groups by providing them with the training, mentoring, coaching, communications systems, and connection to a global network and the resources of URI partners.
| URI Mission / Vision |
| OUR VISIONURI envisions a world at peace, sustained by engaged and interconnected communities committed to respect for diversity, nonviolent resolution of conflict and social, political, economic and environmental justice. OUR MISSIONURI is a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world. We implement our mission through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of our member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles, to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women’s and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights. Currently URI connects over 1,000 organizations in 110 countries. |
